Tuesday, 17 September 2024 13:55

WorkSafe warning on slide pulsators

Written by  Staff Reporters
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, there is an obligation for businesses to manage their health and safety risks. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, there is an obligation for businesses to manage their health and safety risks.

WorkSafe is recommending the dairy industry reassess its use of slide pulsators, following a recent death in a Waikato milking shed.

Jeff Bolstad died on 27 July in Morrinsville when his clothing become entangled in the rotating bar of a slide pulsator. There is no indication the 69-year-old intentionally reached into any part of the machinery.

WorkSafe is in the early stages of investigating the circumstances, but already has enough information to urge caution.

“We are extremely concerned about the risk posed by exposed moving parts on slide pulsators and urge farmers to check their set-up is safe or bring a specialist in for advice,” says WorkSafe’s investigation manager, Paul West.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, there is an obligation for businesses to manage their health and safety risks.

For farmers, this means to either ensure slide pulsators are safe, substitute them for an electronic pulsator, install safeguarding to prevent access to any moving parts, or remove them. PVC tubing used on some farms is unlikely to provide enough protection to eliminate the risk and meet the required guarding standards.

“The risk of clothing entanglement is real, and steps need to be taken to manage that risk. Any rotating shafts that can catch clothing or body parts need as much protective guarding as possible, or to be replaced,” says West.

More like this

Mocktails and menopause

For those rural women who feel menopause might be getting the best of them, a series of events is heading to the Waikato that could help.

Featured

New UHT plant construction starts

Construction is underway at Fonterra’s new UHT cream plant at Edendale, Southland following a groundbreaking ceremony recently.

National

Farm Source turns 10!

Hundreds of Fonterra farmers visited their local Farm Source store on November 29 to help celebrate the rural service trader's…

Climate-friendly cows closer

Dairy farmers are one step closer to breeding cow with lower methane emissions, offering an innovative way to reduce the…

Machinery & Products

A JAC for all trades

While the New Zealand ute market is dominated by three main players, “disruptors” are never too far away.

Pushing the boundaries

Can-Am is pushing the boundaries of performance with its Outlander line-up of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) with the launch of the…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Milking fish

OPINION: It could be cod on your cornflakes and sardines in your smoothie if food innovators in Indonesia have their…

Seaweed the hero?

OPINION: A new study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to some existing evidence about…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter